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United States Patent |
6,129,544
|
Chen
|
October 10, 2000
|
Safety device for piezoelectric lighter
Abstract
A safety device for a piezoelectric lighter, which can prevent under age
children from the usage of cigarette lighter without adult supervision,
includes a locking stopper fitted in a locker groove of a cap body of a
pusher cap in an inwardly movable manner and a resilient unit mounted
between the locking stopper and the pusher cap to normally urge and retain
the locking stopper positioning between the pusher head and the locking
flange of a piezoelectric unit casing of the piezoelectric lighter, so as
to block any downwardly movement of the pusher cap and thus prevent the
ignition operation of the piezoelectric unit. In other words, the
piezoelectric lighter is locked from ignition normally. In order to ignite
the piezoelectric lighter of the present invention, an adult user's thumb
must intentionally push in the locking stopper until it is unblocked by
the locking flange and push down the pusher cap at the same time.
Inventors:
|
Chen; Peter (16134 E. Ridge View, La Mirada, CA 90638)
|
Appl. No.:
|
339052 |
Filed:
|
June 23, 1999 |
Current U.S. Class: |
431/153; 431/255 |
Intern'l Class: |
F23D 011/36 |
Field of Search: |
431/153,255
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
5228849 | Jul., 1993 | Frigiere | 431/153.
|
5240408 | Aug., 1993 | Uematsu et al. | 431/153.
|
5458482 | Oct., 1995 | Saito et al. | 431/153.
|
Primary Examiner: Dority; Carroll
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Chan; Raymond Y.
David and Raymond
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A piezoelectric lighter, comprising:
a casing which comprises a liquefied gas storage and a piezoelectric unit
casing which is attached to said liquefied gas storage and defines a
pusher cavity therein, wherein a top edge of an outer wall of said
piezoelectric unit casing functions as a locking flange with a
predetermined thickness;
a gas ejection nozzle which appears from a ceiling of said piezoelectric
unit casing and communicating with said liquefied gas storage for
controlling flowing of gas;
a piezoelectric unit fitted in said piezoelectric unit casing for
generating piezoelectricity, wherein said piezoelectric unit comprises a
movable operating part upwardly extended from said pusher cavity and an
ignition tip connected thereto;
a pusher cap slidably fitted in said pusher cavity of said casing in a
vertically movable manner, wherein said pusher cap is attached to a top
end of said piezoelectric unit and comprises a cap body and a pusher head
attaching on top of said cap body and exposing above said piezoelectric
unit casing; and
a safety device comprising a locking stopper disposed between said pusher
head and said locking flange in an inwardly movable manner, and a
resilient unit mounted between said locking stopper and said pusher cap to
normally urge and retain said locking stopper positioning between said
pusher head and said locking flange of said piezoelectric unit casing, so
as to block any downwardly movement of said pusher cap and thus prevent
ignition operation of said piezoelectric unit unless said locking stopper
is pressed to move inwardly away from said locking flange.
2. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein a locker groove
is provided on an outer side of said cap body and said locking stopper is
fitted in the locker groove of said cap body in said inwardly movable
manner.
3. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 2, wherein said locker
groove, which is formed at an outer side of said cap body, has a wider
upper portion and a narrower lower portion, said cap body comprising two
side cap walls parallely and downwardly extended from said pusher head,
wherein said movable operating part of said piezoelectric unit is
positioned between said two side cap walls, and on an upper portion of an
outer surface of each of said two side cap walls, a spring hole is
provided.
4. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 2, wherein said locking
stopper comprises a pushing button having a shape and size adapted for
fitting in said locker groove and a blocking tongue downwardly extended
from said pushing button.
5. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 3, wherein said locking
stopper comprises a pushing button having a shape and size adapted for
fitting in said upper portion of said locker groove and a blocking tongue
downwardly extended from said pushing button, said blocking tongue having
a width narrower than a width of said pushing button for fitting in said
lower portion of said locker groove, so that, normally, when said locking
stopper fits in said locker groove, said locking stopper is positioned in
a locking condition, that is blocked between said pusher head and said
locking flange.
6. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said resilient
unit comprises two compression springs each having one end urging against
said cap body and another end pressing against said locking stopper.
7. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 3, wherein said resilient
unit comprises two compression springs each having one end inserted into
said two spring holes and another end urging against said locking stopper.
8. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 5, wherein said resilient
unit comprises two compression springs each having one end inserted into
said two spring holes and another end urging against an inner surface of
said pushing button.
9. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 1, wherein said locking
stopper further comprises two locking arms horizontally and elastically
extended from two inner sides thereof respectively, wherein a free end of
each of said locking arms forms an engagement latch, moreover, at two
bottom sides of a windshield mounted on said ceiling of said casing, each
forms an engagement socket near said pusher head adapted to engage with
said two engagement latches respectively when said locking stopper is
pressed inwardly until said locking stopper is disaligned with said
locking flange.
10. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 2, wherein said locking
stopper further comprises two locking arms horizontally and elastically
extended from two inner sides thereof respectively, wherein a free end of
each of said locking arms forms an engagement latch, moreover, at two
bottom sides of a windshield mounted on said ceiling of said casing, each
forms an engagement socket near said pusher head adapted to engage with
said two engagement latches respectively when said locking stopper is
pressed inwardly until said locking stopper is disaligned with said
locking flange.
11. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 3, wherein said locking
stopper further comprises two locking arms horizontally and elastically
extended from two inner sides thereof respectively, wherein a free end of
each of said locking arms forms an engagement latch, moreover, at two
bottom sides of a windshield mounted on said ceiling of said casing, each
forms an engagement socket near said pusher head adapted to engage with
said two engagement latches respectively when said locking stopper is
pressed inwardly until said locking stopper is disaligned with said
locking flange.
12. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 4, wherein said locking
stopper further comprises two locking arms horizontally and elastically
extended from two inner sides of said pushing button thereof respectively,
wherein a free end of each of said locking arms forms an engagement latch,
moreover, at two bottom sides of a windshield mounted on said ceiling of
said casing, each forms an engagement socket near said pusher head,
wherein said two locking arms are respectively extended underneath said
two bottom sides of said pusher head to enable said two engagement latches
being reachable with respect to said two engagement sockets respectively,
thereby during said locking condition, said two engagement latches rest
below said two bottom sides of said pusher head without engaging with said
two engagement sockets, however when a sideward force is applied to said
pushing button inwardly to push said locking stopper inwardly until said
two engagement latches of said two locking arms thereof are engaged with
said two engagement sockets respectively, said pushing button and said
blocking tongue are both retained in an inner position where said blocking
tongue is disaligned with said locking flange, so that a downward force is
able to push down said pusher cap to press down said moveable operating
part of said piezoelectric unit to ignite said piezoelectric lighter.
13. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 5, wherein said locking
stopper further comprises two locking arms horizontally and elastically
extended from two inner sides of said pushing button thereof respectively,
wherein a free end of each of said locking arms forms an engagement latch,
moreover, at two bottom sides of a windshield mounted on said ceiling of
said casing, each forms an engagement socket near said pusher head,
wherein said two locking arms are respectively extended underneath said
two bottom sides of said pusher head to enable said two engagement latches
being reachable with respect to said two engagement sockets respectively,
thereby during said locking condition, said two engagement latches rest
below said two bottom sides of said pusher head without engaging with said
two engagement sockets, however when a sideward force is applied to said
pushing button inwardly to push said locking stopper inwardly until said
two engagement latches of said two locking arms thereof are engaged with
said two engagement sockets respectively, said pushing button and said
blocking tongue are both retained in an inner position where said blocking
tongue is disaligned with said locking flange, so that a downward force is
able to push down said pusher cap to press down said moveable operating
part of said piezoelectric unit to ignite said piezoelectric lighter.
14. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 6, wherein said locking
stopper further comprises two locking arms horizontally and elastically
extended from two inner sides thereof respectively, wherein a free end of
each of said locking arms forms an engagement latch, moreover, at two
bottom sides of a windshield mounted on said ceiling of said casing, each
forms an engagement socket near said pusher head adapted to engage with
said two engagement latches respectively when said locking stopper is
pressed inwardly until said locking stopper is disaligned with said
locking flange.
15. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 7, wherein said locking
stopper further comprises two locking arms horizontally and elastically
extended from two inner sides thereof respectively, wherein a free end of
each of said locking arms forms an engagement latch, moreover, at two
bottom sides of a windshield mounted on said ceiling of said casing, each
forms an engagement socket near said pusher head adapted to engage with
said two engagement latches respectively when said locking stopper is
pressed inwardly until said locking stopper is disaligned with said
locking flange.
16. A piezoelectric lighter, as recited in claim 8, wherein said locking
stopper further comprises two locking arms horizontally and elastically
extended from two inner sides of said pushing button thereof respectively,
wherein a free end of each of said locking arms forms an engagement latch,
moreover, at two bottom sides of a windshield mounted on said ceiling of
said casing, each forms an engagement socket near said pusher head,
wherein said two locking arms are respectively extended underneath said
two bottom sides of said pusher head to enable said two engagement latches
being reachable with respect to said two engagement sockets respectively,
thereby during said locking condition, said two engagement latches rest
below said two bottom sides of said pusher head without engaging with said
two engagement sockets, however when a sideward force is applied to said
pushing button inwardly to push said locking stopper inwardly until said
two engagement latches of said two locking arms thereof are engaged with
said two engagement sockets respectively, said pushing button and said
blocking tongue are both retained in an inner position where said blocking
tongue is disaligned with said locking flange, so that a downward force is
able to push down said pusher cap to press down said moveable operating
part of said piezoelectric unit to ignite said piezoelectric lighter.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to gas lighter, and more particular to a
safety device for a piezoelectric lighter, which is adapted to prevent the
minor, especially under 5 years old, to ignite the lighter so as to
guarantee the safety of children. The safety device of the piezoelectric
lighter can also prevent the lighter from being accidentally or
unintentionally ignited by the adults.
2. Description of Related Arts
It is well known that accidents cause by fire are some of the most horrible
things that can happen to anyone. Over the years, there are hundreds of
family who suffer from the damages caused by fire, some from the city fire
and others got their home burned down around the green areas due to the
forest fires. The community has always encouraged people to take any
oncoming fire hazard, because we know that it's better to prevent the
problem than to deal with it, and especially if we're dealing with an
element of no mercy. Accidental fire had not only burned down homes and
destroyed lives, but it also had killed many people over the years.
Most fires are caused accidentally by ignorance of human mistakes,
especially among our young children. We tried to teach our young ones to
not step into the accidental mistake of starting an accidental fire, but
it is very difficult to enforce adult supervision over them twenty-four
hours a day. In most accidental fire cases today, many were started by the
ignorant usage of cigarette lighters, especially when someone in the
family who is a smoker which having many cigarette lighters laying around
the house waiting for the young one to pick it up and use it.
For protecting the safety and benefit of children, the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission imposed an important regulation that "Child
below 5 years old cannot light the lighter". However, most of the
piezoelectric lighters entirely alter the structural design of the lighter
or incorporate complicate locking or switching mechanism with the lighter,
that will largely increase the number of parts as well as the
manufacturing cost and steps. Moreover, as we know, the children today are
very intellectual in certain circumstances. If there is obvious a switch
or button included on the lighter, they will soon to figure out how to
work with that switch or button.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
A main object of the present invention is to provide a safety device for a
piezoelectric lighter for preventing under age children from the usage of
cigarette lighter without adult supervision.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety device for a
piezoelectric lighter to normally lock up the piezoelectric unit to
prevent the lighting operation of the piezoelectric lighter.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety device for a
piezoelectric lighter, which can automatically return to a locking
condition after each ignition operation, so as to prevent any lighting
operation of the piezoelectric unit by locking up the downward movement of
the pusher cap.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a safety device for a
piezoelectric lighter, which does not require to alter the original
structural design of the piezoelectric lighter, so as to minimize the
manufacturing cost of incorporating said safety device with every
conventional piezoelectric lighter having a pusher cap.
In order to accomplish the above objects, the present invention provides a
safety device for a piezoelectric lighter, especially a kind of
piezoelectric lighter as shown in FIG. 1, or other similar cigarette
lighters and barbecue lighter, wherein the piezoelectric lighter
comprises:
a casing having a liquefied gas storage and a piezoelectric unit casing
attaching to the liquefied gas storage and defining a pusher cavity
therein, a top edge of an outer wall of the piezoelectric unit casing
works functioning as a locking flange with a predetermined thickness;
a gas ejection nozzle appearing from a ceiling of the casing and
communicating with the liquefied gas storage for controlling the flow of
gas;
a piezoelectric unit fitted in the piezoelectric unit casing for generating
piezoelectricity, wherein the piezoelectric unit comprises a movable
operating part upwardly extended from the pusher cavity and an ignition
tip connected thereto;
a pusher cap slidably fitted in the pusher cavity of the casing in a
vertically movable manner, the pusher cap being attached to a top end of
the piezoelectric unit and comprising a cap body and a pusher head
attaching on top of the cap body and exposing above the piezoelectric unit
casing, wherein a locker groove is provided on an outer side of the cap
body; and
a safety device comprising a locking stopper fitted in the locker groove of
the cap body of the pusher cap in an inwardly movable manner and a
resilient unit mounted between the locking stopper and the pusher cap to
normally urge and retain the locking stopper positioning between the
pusher head and the locking flange of the piezoelectric unit casing so as
to block any downwardly movement of the pusher cap and thus prevent the
ignition operation of the piezoelectric unit. In other words, the
piezoelectric lighter is locked from ignition normally. In order to ignite
the piezoelectric lighter of the present invention, an adult user's thumb
must intentionally push in the locking stopper until it is unblocked by
the locking flange and push down the pusher cap at the same time.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a traditional piezoelectric lighter of the
type embodied in the present invention without equipping safety device.
FIG. 2 is a partially exposed perspective view of a piezoelectric lighter
equipped with a safety device according to a first preferred embodiment of
the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the piezoelectric lighter with safety device
according to the above first preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
FIG. 4 is a partially exposed perspective view of a piezoelectric lighter
equipped with a safety device according to a second preferred embodiment
of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the piezoelectric lighter with safety
device according to the above second preferred embodiment of the present
invention, wherein the safety device is in a locking condition.
FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the piezoelectric lighter with safety
device according to the above second preferred embodiment of the present
invention, wherein the safety device is in an unlocked condition.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a barbecue lighter illustrating that the
safety device of the present invention can also be equipped with the
barbecue lighter instead of a cigarette lighter as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6.
FIG. 8 is a top view illustrating a safety device having an alternative
resilient unit for the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, a traditional piezoelectric lighter without any safety
mechanism is shown. In order to ignite such conventional piezoelectric
lighter, a user may simply push down the pusher cap 4 that will downwardly
drive and press a piezoelectric unit disposed inside a piezoelectric unit
casing 12 to generate striking spark from a ignition tip 32 towards a gas
ejection nozzle 20. Moreover, the downward movement of the piezoelectric
unit will simultaneously operate to release gas, so that the ejecting gas
will be ignited by the striking spark ejected from the gas ejection nozzle
20.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings, a piezoelectric lighter
equipped with a safety device according to a first preferred embodiment of
the present invention is illustrated, wherein most of the components and
parts remain the same as the traditional piezoelectric lighter as shown in
FIG. 1 and only the structure of the pusher cap is changed to equip with
the safety device of the present invention, so that the manufacturers can
save a great amount of molding fee and manufacturing cost. In other words,
the present invention does not require to alter the original structural
design of the piezoelectric lighter, so that it can minimize the
manufacturing cost and that said safety device can be incorporated with
every conventional piezoelectric lighter having a pusher cap.
As shown in FIG. 3, the piezoelectric lighter 1, such as a standard
piezoelectric lighter, comprises a casing 10, a gas ejection nozzle 20, a
piezoelectric unit 30, and a pusher cap 40. The casing 10 comprises a
liquefied gas storage 11 and a piezoelectric unit casing 12 which is
attached to the liquefied gas storage 11 and defines a pusher cavity 121
therein.
As shown in FIG. 3, the gas ejection nozzle 20 appears from a ceiling of
the piezoelectric unit casing 10 and communicating with the liquefied gas
storage 11 for controlling the flow of gas. The piezoelectric lighter 1
further comprises a windshield 13 mounted on the ceiling of the casing 10
and encircling the gas ejection nozzle 20.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a top edge of an outer wall 122 of the
piezoelectric unit casing 12 functions as a locking flange 123 with a
predetermined thickness. The piezoelectric unit 30 is fitted in the
piezoelectric unit casing 12 for generating piezoelectricity, wherein the
piezoelectric unit 30 comprises a movable operating part 31 upwardly
extended from the pusher cavity 121 and an ignition tip 32 connected
thereto.
The modified pusher cap 40 is slidably fitted in the pusher cavity 121 of
the piezoelectric unit casing 12 in a vertically movable manner. The
pusher cap 40, which is attached to a top end of the piezoelectric unit
30, comprises a cap body 41 and a pusher head 42 attaching on top of the
cap body 41 and exposing above the piezoelectric unit casing 12, wherein a
locker groove 43 is provided on an outer side of the cap body 41.
As shown in FIG. 2, the locker groove 43, which is formed at an outer side
of the cap body 41, has a wider upper portion 431 and a narrower lower
portion 432. The cap body 41 comprises two side cap walls 411, 412
parallely and downwardly extended from the pusher head 42. The movable
operating part 31 of the piezoelectric unit 30 is positioned between the
two side cap walls 411, 412. On an upper portion of an outer surface of
each side cap wall 411, 412, a spring hole 413, 414 is provided.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the present invention includes a safety device
50 which comprises a locking stopper 51 fitted in the locker groove 43 of
the cap body 41 of the pusher cap 40 in an inwardly movable manner and a
resilient unit 52 mounted between the locking stopper 51 and the pusher
cap 40 to normally urge and retain the locking stopper 51 positioning
between the pusher head 2 and the locking flange 123 of the piezoelectric
unit casing 12 so as to block any downwardly movement of the pusher cap 42
and thus prevent the ignition operation of the piezoelectric unit 30.
According to the first preferred embodiment, the locking stopper 51
comprises a pushing button 511 having a shape and size adapted for fitting
in the upper portion 431 of the locker groove 43 and a blocking tongue 512
downwardly extended from the pushing button 511. The blocking tongue 512
has a width narrower than a width of the pushing button 511 for fitting in
the lower portion 432 of the locker groove 43. Normally, when the locking
stopper 51 fits in the locker groove 43, the locking stopper 51 is
positioned in a locking condition, that is blocked between the pusher head
42 and the locking flange 123.
As shown in FIG. 2, the resilient unit 52 comprises two compression springs
521, 522 each having one end inserted into the two spring holes 413, 414
and another end urging against an inner surface of the pushing button 511.
By means of the resilient unit 52, such as the two compression springs
521, 522, the locking stopper 51 is normally urged and retained in the
locking condition, i.e. positioning between the pusher head 42 and the
locking flange 123 of the piezoelectric unit casing 12. Therefore, the
pusher cap 40 is normally locked up by blocking its downwardly movement
with the locking stopper 51. Even an adult is unable to press down the
blocked pusher cap 40 as usual with his or her thumb to ignite the
piezoelectric lighter 1 of the present invention.
In order to ignite the piezoelectric lighter 1 of the present invention, as
shown in FIG. 3, an adult user's thumb 60 must intentionally push in the
locking stopper 51 until it is unblocked with respect to the locking
flange 123 and then press down the pusher cap 40 at the same time.
In other words, according to the present invention as shown in FIG. 3, in
order to ignite the piezoelectric lighter 1, a sideward force F1 and a
downward force F2 must be applied to the pushing button 511 and the pusher
head 42 simultaneously but no switch is needed to operate. When the
sideward force F1 inwardly pushes the pushing button 511, the blocking
tongue 512 is pushed inwardly to an unlocking condition, where the
blocking tongue 512 is disaligned with the locking flange 123, so that, at
the same time, the downward force F2 can push down the pusher cap 40 to
simultaneously press down the moveable operating part 31 of the
piezoelectric unit 30 to ignite the piezoelectric lighter 1.
However, once the downward force F2 applied on the pusher cap 40 is
released, the two springs 521, 522 of the resilient unit 52 will
automatically push out the locking stopper 51 to return to its original
locking position, i.e. positioning between the pusher head 42 and the
locking flange 123 of the piezoelectric unit casing 12.
Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6, a piezoelectric lighter 1' with a safety device
according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, which
is a modification of the above first preferred embodiment. Basically, the
piezoelectric lighter 1' comprises identical components and structure as
recited in the first preferred embodiment except that, as shown in FIG. 4,
the locking stopper 51 of the safety device 50 further comprises two
locking arms 513, 514 horizontally and elastically extended from two inner
sides of the pushing button 511 thereof respectively, wherein a free end
of each of the locking arms 513, 514 forms a triangular engagement latch
515, 516. Moreover, at two bottom sides 131 of the windshield 13 each
forms an engagement socket 132 near the pusher head 42 adapted to receive
the respective engagement latch 515, 516 therein.
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the two locking arms 513, 514 are respectively
extended underneath the two bottom sides of the pusher head 42 to enable
the two engagement latches 515, 516 being reachable with respect to the
two engagement sockets 132 respectively.
Normally, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the two compression springs 521, 522
bias against the inner surface of the pushing button 511 to push the
locking stopper 51 outwardly retained in the locking condition, as shown
in FIG. 5, i.e. positioning between the pusher head 42 and the locking
flange 123 of the piezoelectric unit casing 12. During the locking
condition, the two engagement latches 515, 516 rest below the two bottom
sides of the pusher head 42 without engaging with the two engagement
sockets 132. Therefore, the pusher cap 40 is normally locked up by
blocking its downwardly movement with the locking stopper 51. Even an
adult is unable to press down the blocked pusher cap 40 as usual with his
or her thumb to ignite the piezoelectric lighter 1' of the present
invention.
To ignite the piezoelectric lighter 1 of the present invention, as shown in
FIG. 6, a sideward force can first be applied to the pushing button 511
inwardly to push the locking stopper 51 inwardly until the two engagement
latches 515, 516 of the two locking arms 513, 514 thereof are engaged with
the two engagement sockets 132 respectively. During such unlocking
condition, the pushing button 511 and the blocking tongue 512 are both
retained in an inner position where the blocking tongue 512 is disaligned
with the locking flange 123, so that the user may simply apply a downward
force to push down the pusher cap 40 to press down the moveable operating
part 31 of the piezoelectric unit 30 to ignite the piezoelectric lighter
1', as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6.
Furthermore, the downward force pressed on the pusher cap 40 also releases
the engagement of the two engagement latches 515, 516 and the two
engagement sockets 132, so that when the downward force applied on the
pusher cap 40 is released, the two springs 521, 522 of the resilient unit
52 will automatically push out the locking stopper 51 to return to its
original locking position as recited above.
In view of above, the safety device 50 of the present invention is
perfectly childproof because a child is unable to operate the pushing in
of the locking stopper 51 and the pressing down of the pusher cap 40
simultaneously. Moreover, it can automatically reset the locking stopper
51 to the locking position after each ignition of the piezoelectric
lighter 1 or 1' by means of the resilient unit 52. In other words, the
piezoelectric lighter 1 or 1' of the present invention is normally locked.
Even after an ignition, no additional action has to take to re-lock the
lighter. It will automatically re-lock again to provide better safety.
The above first and second preferred embodiments as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6
embody the cigarette lighter. The safety device 50 for the piezoelectric
lighter of the present invention can also be a barbecue lighter 1A, as
shown in FIG. 7, where the windshield 13 of the cigarette type
piezoelectric lighter 1 or 1', as shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, is replaced with
an elongated nozzle tube 13A of the barbecue type piezoelectric lighter
1A, as shown in FIG. 7, while the other components and structure remain
the same as the cigarette type piezoelectric lighter 1 or 1'. Accordingly,
it is worth to mention that both the safety device 50 embodied in the
above first and second embodiments can also be embodied in such a barbecue
type piezoelectric lighter 1A.
FIG. 8 illustrates an alternative mode of the resilient unit 52, wherein a
curved spring strip 520 is capable of substituting the two compression
springs 521, 522 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 for biasing against the locking
stopper 51 outwardly by pressing two ends of the spring strip 520 against
the pushing button 511 while the curved middle portion urging against the
pusher head 42 of the pusher cap 40.
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